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Karyn Turk said she’s not a member though—and that the FBI hadn’t notified Yang’s attorney about its investigation

Like her client, the spokesperson for Li “Cindy” Yanghas shared multiple photos from Mar-a-Lago. It’s Yang’s selfie with President Trumpat his private Palm Beach club, of course, that led to increased scrutiny of the Republican donor and spa founder who allegedly also peddled access to the U.S. president.

Karyn Turk said that she’s not a member of the president’s club though and that her representation of Yang and frequent visits to the president’s private club are just emblematic of Palm Beach’s social scene.

“We feel very fortunate and blessed to have friends and be able to go to Mar-a-Lago,” Turk said.

Yesterday’s Miami Herald article “Feds open foreign-money investigation into Trump donor Cindy Yang” identified Turk as Yang’s spokesperson. An Instagram post and other media accounts confirm that relationship. (Yes, Turk, to Yang’s left in the photo, is also Mrs. Florida 2016.) Turk’s husband, Evan, is Yang’s attorney. Karyn works for his firm, Palm Beach Law Offices.

seated with then Turning Point USA communications director Candace Owens

As for the Palm Beach Law Office’s client, Turk said the FBI had not informed the firm that it was looking into whether or not Yang violated campaign-finance laws. [Update June 15, 2019: The original version of this story reported that Yang was the sole client of the Palm Beach Las Office; that’s not the case. Rather she’s that firm’s only client involved in the allegations involving Chinese business people gaining access to President Trump’s circle.]

“Although The Miami Herald is reporting that there’s an FBI investigation, we have no reason to believe she’s under investigation,” she said. “And she’s had no charges or anything filed against her. So the firm knows nothing about this FBI investigation.”

Turk said that no one is paying Yang’s legal fees on her behalf.

Turk and her husband ended up representing Yang because they ran in the same Republican social circles. “She’s like one of these people I had talked to a couple of times but really didn’t know, because there was kind of a language barrier,” Turk said. “She’s a very nice Chinese woman that I’d see out, we’d say hello, and we have lots of mutual friends and she seems to be doing great things for the community.”

“When this whole thing went down, we were extremely fortunate that she picked up the phone and thought of us.”

Support 1100 Pennsylvania: never-redacted reporting on President Trump’s D.C. hotel

We now know most of what’s in the Mueller report. It’s time to focus on what happens inside the Trump Hotel D.C. and the president’s other businesses. Original, in-depth reporting, of course, takes time. But it’s making an impact—and you can help. If you’re not an 1100 Pennsylvania member, please become one. Memberships are this newsletter’s sole source of revenue.Select the red “Subscribe now” button and become a member by paying just $5 a month or $50 a year. Thank you.

Notable sightings

Rudy and Fox News’s Gina Loudon—two Trump business regulars—smoked cigars on a balcony. Apparently Giuliani is there so often, it’s now called The Rudy Room.

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R–TX) was back at a Trump property, as were hotel regulars Fox News pundit and Trump campaign advisor Harlan Hill and political publicist Sarah Selip. Crenshaw posted with several other Trump patrons too. “So awesome.” (The gala mentioned in the captions took place at a different venue.)

Judson Sapp, the CEO of W.J. Sapp Railroad Contractor who tried to primary Rep. Ted Yoho (R–FL), is honored to be a fundraiser for the Trump campaign. Wednesday he shared this photo of him meeting the president at the president’s private club.

Judiciary—On March 4, the committee “served document requests to 81 agencies, entities, and individuals believed to have information relevant to the investigation,” according to a statement by the panel. Among the individuals the committee requested documents from are Trump Organization EVP Donald Trump Jr.; EVP Eric Trump; EVP and COO Michael Calamari; CFO Alan Weisselberg; EVP and chief legal officer Alan Garten; Trump tax attorney Sherri Dillon; longtime Trump executive assistant Rhona Graff; former Trump advisor Felix Sater; former Trump attorney Michael Cohen; and Trump associate and inaugural chair, Tom Barrack. The committee received “tens of thousands” of documents by the March 18 deadline the letters set for responses, according to its chair, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D–NY). Among the respondents: Barrack, Steve Bannon, and the National Rifle Association. But more than half of the targets had not replied by April 3, two weeks after the deadline. On that day, the committee authorized subpoenas for former White House aides Bannon, Ann Donaldson, Hope Hicks, Donald McGahn, and Reince Priebus, per Politico. Attorneys for the Trump Organization, Donald Trump Jr., and Eric Trump did not respond to Politico’s inquires if their clients planned to reply. The committee is considering making additional document requests, including to Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. The committee interviewed Felix Sater on March 21.

UPDATED Oversight and Reform—Chair Rep. Elijah Cummings’s (D–MD) staff “has already sent out 51 letters to government officials, the White House, and the Trump Organization asking for documents related to investigations that the committee may launch,” on Jan. 13. In a Feb. 15 letter to White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, Cummings said the committee received documents showing White House attorney Stefan Passantino and long-time Trump personal attorney Sheri Dillon provided “false information” to the Office of Government Ethics regarding Michael Cohen’s “hush-money payments.” As a result, Cummings wants to depose Passantino and Dillon; the White House, however, rejected Cummings’ request to interview Passantino. And on Feb. 27, Cohen testified to the committee about those payments and other Trump Organization business practices, which could lead to the committee requesting the president’s tax returns and allegations of possible insurance fraud. The next day, House Democrats signaled they would seek testimony from Trump Organization officials whom Cohen alleged were implicated, including Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka Trump, and CFO Allen Weisselberg. On March 6, Cummings requested information from the GSA about its reversal of an earlier decision to relocate FBI headquarters, which is located across the street from the Trump Hotel D.C. The committee also has requested 10 years of Trump’s financial records. On March 11, the committee requested documents on Trump’s businesses from Capital One; the bank “said it was already preserving documents but needs a subpoena in order to comply” per Politico. And on April 12, Cummings notified committee members that he plans to subpoena Mazars USA, Trump’s accounting firm, for his financial statements. That same day Cummings also wrote to the GSA requesting all monthly reports from the Trump Hotel D.C., information about any liens on the hotel, a slew of correspondence between the Trump Org and GSA, and legal opinions regarding the Trump Org’s compliance with the lease. President Trump, the Trump Organization, and the Trump Hotel D.C. sued Cummings and Mazars USA on April 22 in an attempt to prevent the release of Trump’s financial records. Trump’s suit cites an 1880 Supreme Court decision—that was overturned in 1927. Cummings postponed the subpoenas’ deadline while the courts address the president’s suit. A hearing is scheduled for May 14 and U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta said he will fast-track the case.

Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management—Transportation committee chair Rep. Peter DeFazio (D–OR) and subcommittee chair Dina Titus (D–NV) sent a letter to GSA administrator Emily Murphy on Jan. 22 asking for all communication between the GSA and members of the Trump family dating back to 2015, an explanation of how the D.C. hotel calculates its profits, profit statements since the hotel opened, any guidance from the White House regarding the lease, and whether or not Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner are recused from participating in decisions regarding the property. GSA has “sent a partial response and the subcommittee is reviewing it,” according to a senior House staffer familiar with the situation. When hearings begin, it is likely that Murphy will be the first person called to testify, according to a person familiar with the subcommittee’s plans. Titus is hiring additional staffers to handle the investigation. On March 6, Titus requested information from the GSA about its reversal of an earlier decision to relocate the FBI headquarters, which is located across the street from the Trump Hotel D.C. NPR reported on March 15 that, “Democrats on the committee want to know, among other things, whether there was any political pressure exerted on the GSA by the Trump White House, presidential campaign or transition team. They also want to know how the Trump Hotel calculates its profits, segregates incoming money from foreign governments, and what the Trump Organization owes the GSA on a monthly or annual basis.’”

UPDATED Ways and Means—On April 3, chairman Richard Neal (D–MA) requested six years of Trump’s personal tax returns, as well as the returns for eight of his businesses (including that of the trust that holds the president’s ownership stake in the D.C. hotel). After the IRS missed Neal’s first deadline, he extended it until 5 p.m. on April 22. The IRS missed that deadline too and Treasury Sec. Steve Mnuchin said he’d make a decision whether or not to release the returns by May 6. He declined to do so. Neal indicated he’ll take the issue to the federal courts. And on May 10 the committee subpoenaed Mnuchin and IRS commissioner Charles Rettig, giving them a May 17 deadline to turn over Trumop’s tax returns. Also, the subcommittee on Oversight held its first hearing on “legislative proposals and tax law related to presidential and vice-presidential tax returns” on Feb. 7. “We will ask the question: Does the public have a need to know that a person seeking the highest office in our country obeys tax law?” said chair Rep. John Lewis (D–GA). Experts in tax law testified.

President Trump chose not to divest; Americans need to know who’s paying him

Unlike his predecessors, Donald Trump did not divest his businesses upon becoming U.S. president. Think that may be a problem? Become an 1100 Pennsylvania member, and support reporting on who’s spending money at the president’s businesses—and what they may be getting in return. Memberships are this newsletter’s sole source of revenue.Select the red “Subscribe now” button and become a member by paying just $5 a month or $50 a year. Thank you.

Individual capacity—On Dec. 14, Trump’s personal attorneys appealed the denial of their motion to dismiss the case, also to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. On Dec. 19, the AGs replied to Trump’s motion for a stay pending that appeal by voluntarily dismissing the claims against Trump in his “individual capacity to allow the claims against President Trump in his official capacity to move forward expeditiously.” (The AGs only brought suit against Trump in his individual capacity after the judge suggested they do so.) Trump’s personal attorneys, on Dec. 21, opposed the motion to dismiss at the district level, saying the appeals court now has jurisdiction and accusing the AGs of “gamesmanship.”

Employees’ class-action suit alleging racial discrimination—Two of the three plaintiffs did not appear at a status hearing on Jan. 25, 2019; their cases were moved to arbitration. Via email, their attorney, A.J. Dhali, said his clients did not appear at the hearing because their case already had been moved to arbitration last year. The next status hearing is scheduled for Oct. 4.

Health inspections, current status (latest change, Aug. 10, 2018)

❌Hotel: five violations on May 7, 2018; two were corrected on site

❌BLT Prime and Benjamin Bar: nine violations on Aug. 10, 2018

❌Sushi Nakazawa: two violations on Aug. 10, 2018

✔️Banquet kitchen: no violations on Aug. 10, 2018

❌Pastry kitchen: two violations on Aug. 10, 2018

✔️Gift shop: no violations on May 7, 2018

❌Employee kitchen and in-room dining: five violations on Aug. 10, 2018; two were corrected on site

Is the Trump Organization selling merchandise that depicts the White House? (latest change, March 21, 2019)

One thing that (probably) has nothing to do with Trump’s businesses

Thanks for reading. If you like what you saw, tell someone—and support this work by becoming a member. If you’ve been forwarded this newsletter, subscribe for yourself at zacheverson.substack.com.Questions? Read our FAQ/manifesto.Tips or feedback? Contact me, Zach Everson, securely via email at 1100Pennsylvania@protonmail.com or on Signal at 202.804.2744.